Trade spotlight – Sheetmetal, Todd Philp

This month our spotlight is centred on Todd Philp, a 3rd-year sheet metal apprentice hosted with HRC Alliance Pty Ltd. What makes this story even more special to tell is that Todd has recently been nominated for the category of Apprentice of the Year at the TAFE NSW Achievement Awards. This is the Institute’s premier event of the year celebrating achievement and excellence in vocational education and training.

Todd commenced work at HRC Alliance as a first-year sheet metal apprentice (just 16 years of age) and had a somewhat bumpy start. “I found the first year of transitioning from school to work difficult and I had to learn some hard lessons really quickly”. Whilst he wasn’t sure where this trade was going to take him, he knew that he wanted to complete a trade qualification to give him as much advantage as possible. Todd said, “it all started to turn around at the end of my 2nd year – I was progressing better at TAFE – my confidence was building and I started to build up creditability with the other tradesmen in the workplace.” This gave Todd more reason than ever to complete outside courses to help further him in his career. As a result of these actions that is exactly what has happened.

Gary Wright, Production Manager at HRC Alliance says that “Todd’s ability as a tradesperson has by far exceeded HRC Alliance’s expectations and as a result of his performance HRC Alliance have provided an opportunity for him to further develop his career with the company as a junior draftsman which will facilitate Todd’s career path to production/project coordinator in the future.”

Whilst this story is exceptional, it demonstrates how successful an apprenticeship can be for a young Australian when they are willing to work hard and are determined to succeed. It also serves to illustrate how, through the support of a great host employer, Todd has been allowed to thrive and develop to a point where he is now adding real value to the business.

1300apprentice wishes Todd the very best in the forthcoming awards and special thanks to HRC Alliance and Granville TAFE for their continuing support of 1300apprentice and the apprenticeship program.